Registration Q&A

How do we go about registering our animals with AABA?

Once you become a member of AABA, you have three options:

Submit registration certificates from other alpaca associations
Submit a spreadsheet of animal details
Submit animal details online with your individual AAR login details

What is the cost of registration?

The registration fee is $5.50 per animal during the first 12 months of membership, or if no registrations in first 12 months of membership, then for the first batch of registrations. (This does not include DNA testing.)

What is the difference between “registered” and “verified”?: “Registered” means the animal has been placed on the AAR based only on the information provided by the person lodging the registration. “Verified” means that the animal being registered has been DNA tested and its parentage confirmed by crosschecking its DNA results against its claimed sire and dam. An animal with two full generations of verified parentage behind it is automatically placed on the top tier of the AAR. All other animals remain on the lower tier of the AAR.

How do I certify a male?: The AAR does not draw any distinction between intact males like the IAR. The distinction in the AAR is between declared parentage and verified parentage and this applies to an animal of any sex proven by DNA. A breeder can use any male they wish in their breeding program. There is no additional charges for males over females.

If I get an outside mating from a non AAR animal, can the cria be registered?: Yes the cria can be registered by providing the details of parentage as normal. However, unless you can obtain a DNA sample from the visiting male and pay for the test, the cria cannot be verified.

Can the DNA tests on my IAR certified male be used for registration on the AAR?: No, as the type and number of markers used by the IAR are not compatible with the AAR. Also, as a significant number of IAR males never had their DNA actually tested, there may not be any results at all.

I run some alpacas that are registered with the AAA, a few in my name, a few in the old owners’ names (as I did not bother to transfer them into my name), as well as a few unregistered alpacas. Am I able to register the entire herd with AABA?: Yes you can register the entire herd with AABA. You must be able to prove ownership. You also have the option of DNA testing to verify the parentage.

Is it possible to register an animal on both the AAR and IAR?: Yes, if you are a member of both associations.

Many alpacas trace their ancestry to a few well known males. If someone were to submit DNA from one of these for testing, will the database automatically move every (DNA tested) alpaca sharing the genetics “up the ladder”?: Yes.

Would every DNA test submitted be checked and verified against its recorded sire and dam to check that the registration is correct?: Yes. If the sire or dam are nominated for checking, and these results are on record, checking is done automatically at no additional cost.

If I DNA test my cria and it is found that what I thought was the parent male is not the parent male, what can I do?: The cria being registered cannot be verified at this stage because DNA has proven the male is not who you thought it was. However, you can nominate more than one candidate sire at the time of testing to minimse this problem. In fact, the lab, and AABA, recommend you DNA test all males on the property to minimise this problem even further. If it is likely to be one of your other males and they also have been tested then a search will be made on the database and there will be a good chance the real male will be identified. If the male cannot be identified then the cria can still be registered but cannot be verified.

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